The end of a year and the beginning of a new one―or in this case, the beginning of a new decade―is the perfect time to reflect on the pet patients, their families, and the community members we have helped and touched here at The COVE.

In 2019, we:

Treated 12,233 pets across our emergency and specialty departments. Each year, not only do we receive patients through our emergency room, but we also work closely with primary care veterinarians across the greater Suffolk area who refer their patients to our board-certified veterinary specialists and experienced veterinarians. We are extremely thankful and appreciative of the outstanding relationships we have built with our referring veterinary community.

While a majority of our patients are dogs and cats, in 2019, we have also helped a few exotics, including hamsters, birds, reptiles, and even some wildlife.

Performed 1,436 surgeries to help critically injured or ill patients. Three of our departments perform surgical procedures: emergency and critical care, dentistry, and surgery. To learn more about specific cases and to see how our furry patients have recovered, please visit our Facebook page.

Sponsored or participated in 12 community events. The COVE plays an active and integral role within Suffolk and the surrounding areas throughout the year. We are also proud sponsors of several events, including family and pet festivals. Additionally, our staff members always enjoy visiting local schools to encourage students as young as elementary age to think about a career in the veterinary profession.

Hosted 12 continuing education (CE) events. As part of our commitment to the veterinary profession and this region’s veterinary community, we offered a variety of continuing education opportunities for veterinarians, licensed veterinary technicians, and support staff.

COVE CE - educating veterinarians

Raised $7,176.45 for the Healing Animals Together (HAT) Fund, which enables us to provide financial assistance for critical patients that have an excellent prognosis but may be euthanized nonetheless due to their owners’ financial constraints. This year we were able to help a record-breaking number of pet families thanks to the generosity of our dedicated supporters.

For many of us, the end of the year and the holiday season is a time for giving. If you would like to help us help more animals, please donate to our HAT Fund today.

The COVE’s HAT Fund is a designated fund within the Veterinary Care Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) charitable foundation. This means your donation is tax deductible. Plus, 100% of the money in the HAT Fund goes to help pets in need.

Celebrated The COVE’s seventh anniversary. May 2019 marked our seventh anniversary of providing emergency and specialty medicine to Suffolk-area animals. Read more about how we celebrated here.

Veterinarians: Staff members celebrating The COVE's seventh anniversary.
Staff members celebrating The COVE’s seventh anniversary.

Published 24 blog posts to help educate and inform pet parents about not only the services we provide but also how to keep pets safe and healthy all year long. You can read all of our posts here.

Additionally, our outstanding veterinary team has accomplished some incredible milestones and achievements, including:

Tracheal Stent Placement

In June, our board-certified veterinary specialist in emergency and critical care, Jacqueline Nobles, DVM, DACVECC, placed the first tracheal stent at the COVE recently via bronchoscopy and radiography. The patient is doing very well. The procedure was not only life-saving, but life-enhancing. This is just one example of the great success we’ve had with our minimally invasive surgery capabilities

Dr. Ariana Williams

We welcomed a new emergency veterinarian, Ariana Williams, DVM. In July, Dr. Ariana Williams returned to The COVE as an associate emergency veterinarian. When she was in veterinary school at Western University of Health Sciences, she completed two externships with us. We are so happy to have her back with us in our emergency and critical care department, where she can continue to pursue her interests in ultrasound, ophthalmology, soft tissue surgery, and urology. Read her entire bio here.

First internship completed at The COVE. Suzanne Schindler, DVM, completed a one-year small animal rotating internship at The COVE in June 2019. We are immensely proud of Dr. Schindler, and it was such an honor to work alongside her this past year. The entire team at The COVE wishes her the best of luck as she moves on to Ohio to complete an internal medicine internship. And we hope to see her back here one day!

Appointed Spotlight Team Leads for all services

In an effort to help support our clients while their pets are receiving care at The COVE, we are proud to announce our new Spotlight Team Leads:

  • Anesthesia: Rachel Franklin, LVT
  • Cardiology: Marie Moore, LVT
  • Critical Care: Meg Carrasco, LVT
  • Daytime Emergency: Tawny Humphrey, LVT
  • Dentistry: Danielle Martin, LVT
  • Surgery: Tyler Bailey, LVT

The COVE team members presented at veterinary conferences. Throughout the year, several members of our team spoke about their areas of expertise at veterinary conferences, symposiums, and events all over the country. Here are a few that our incredible team of veterinary technicians, veterinarians, and hospital managers participated in this year:

Marie, LVT, a licensed veterinary technician in our cardiology department, was one of a select few chosen to present on the Technician Case Report Track at the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) Forum 2019 in Phoenix, AZ. Her presentation was titled, “Feline Cardiomyopathy and Cardiogenic Embolism: Against the Odds.”

The COVE’s certified veterinary technicians, Andi, Brandy, and Rachel each gave presentations at the Colonial Veterinary Conference in nearby Williamsburg, Virginia.

Jacqueline Nobles, DVM, DACVECC, presented at the International Veterinary Point-of-Care Ultrasound Society (IVPOCUS) symposium in Austin, Texas.

In September 2019, our hospital manager, Danielle (Dani) T. Russ, LVT BS, BA, AS, presented at the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association conference.

Marie LVT ACVIM presentation

A new year’s wish from our founders:

The COVE family is proud to provide outstanding veterinary care for the Hampton Roads region, primarily through the tireless efforts of our exceptional management team, a talented group of staff and relief doctors, and our amazing and highly motivated team of support staff including licensed veterinary technicians, referral coordinator, client liaisons, assistant and hospital care attendants. We look forward to 2020 and the opportunity to continue serving the primary care veterinarians and pet owners of Virginia and North Carolina with gratitude for their trust and steadfast support.

Jeff T. Stallings, DVM, DACVS

As 2019 grows to a close, I have reflected on our growth, and I am humbled and pleased. No doubt, we continue to meet our mission to deliver state of the art medical care with a personal, compassionate focus, but we have grown internally – expanding the roles of our management team, our referral services, and building team leads for each service to provide seamless referral experiences for clients and patients as they enter coordinated care. Thank you all for your ongoing support. We wish you, your family, and all your beloved pets a safe, healthy, and happy New Year.

Merrilee T. Small, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology)

And remember, if you need emergency care for your pet this holiday season – or any time during the year, The COVE is open 24/7/365.

About Us

The COVE’s veterinarians and staff wholeheartedly embrace the core values of community, collaboration, commitment, compassion, and integrity. This focus ensures that pets, the people who love them, and their primary care veterinarians have as positive and affirming a healthcare experience as possible, regardless of the circumstances that bring us all together.